12. Philip
Philip
In my wildest dreams, I would not have expected Nate Ridgefield to be the person offering me a job.
Granted, it’s not a real job.
And it won’t solve my immigration problem. But it’s better than sitting around waiting for Ophelia to come home so I can strip her naked the second she walks through the door while the student loans I’ve been living on slowly dwindle away.
Turns out academic scholarships only cover so much of your living expenses.
Nate: It’s just until my folks get back from their cruise. You can even stay in their cottage if you don’t want to do the commute every day.
“Is he that desperate? Or did Maggie have something to do with it?” No one answers, which is good since I’m alone at my apartment and packing up my shit.
The landlord called yesterday to inform me he would refund my last month’s rent if I was willing to break my lease a month early so he can finish the renovations without me waiting around. Chris and his boyfriend decided to make their new living arrangement permanent, which leaves me with an apartment I can’t live in and no roommate.
I can’t believe the universe sent Nate, of all people, to rescue me.
I could keep staying with Ophie, but it’s starting to feel a little dangerous how much I want to stay.
Especially after last night.
I can still taste her on my lips when I close my eyes. Feel her hot skin under my fingertips. My cock gets hard every time I think about how good it felt to sink into her. To forget about everything else and just be in the moment with her.
Shaking myself, I shove my phone back in my pocket and grab another stack of books. I slide them into the box, packing around them with a collection of bits and bobs off my desk, and let Nate’s offer simmer in my mind.
Three months working in the tasting room at Sunshine Cellars for room and board isn’t exactly what I want to put on my resume. But it’s better than nothing, and now that I’ve graduated, my job as a TA is finished.
I pack up more of my shit as I weigh the pros and cons of spending the next few months working at Sunshine. By the time I tape up the last box, it’s clear that the only real downside is that I will have to deal with Nate on the regular.
The asshole really is a pill.
Although, if I’m there, then he can stay outside in the field or the cellar where he belongs. Besides, I like Kel, and it would be nice to see him and Maggie more.
Me: Alright, man. How about we try it out for a couple weeks and see how it goes?
I don’t bother to unpack my car when I get to Ophie’s since I’ll just have to load it all back up soon. Nate asked me to come out to the winery on Monday so he can give me a rundown on everything I need to know.
“Honey, I’m home,” I call out as I let myself in the front door.
Any hope I had that there might be a repeat of last night’s fun is dashed by the voice that answers me.
“Hi, shnookums.”
Sydney and Maggie are sitting side by side on the couch, feet up on the coffee table. Sydney has a wine glass in her hand and is drowning in a pair of oversized sweats and a giant hoodie that definitely looks stolen from the pile of clothes I left here.
Maggie’s hands are folded around the mason jar glass of water resting on her stomach. Her tight tank top and leggings outline her growing baby bump.
“Hello, ladies. To what do we owe the pleasure?” I glance around, but Ophie is nowhere in sight. Maybe she is in the bathroom? I crane my neck to see if she’s in the kitchen, but it’s empty. “Where’s Ophie?”
“She and Kel went to pick up food.” Sydney takes a long sip from her wine glass. “We ordered Indian.”
I sink into the blue velvet chair next to the couch, sliding down until I can prop my feet up beside the two women’s. “Like I said, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
Maggie snorts, the water in her glass sloshing dangerously. “We? What’s we? I thought you would be back in your apartment already?”
Sydney sits up straight, eyes on me. “Your apartment? What happened?”
I explain about the fire and how I’ve been staying here while it was being repaired. Sydney sips her wine while she listens, eyebrows pulled together in concentration.
“Did you talk to Nate?” Maggie asks when I pause. The sound of a car door slamming shut and voices outside have me on my feet and opening the front door.
“He texted me earlier,” I tell Maggie over my shoulder as Kel steps through the door with two large plastic bags of food.
Maggie doesn’t move but lifts her face to Kel. He pauses to drop a kiss on her cheek when he walks past her. “Are you going to do it?” she asks as Ophie steps inside, gripping a paper bag in one hand and two bottles of Sunshine Cellars wine in the other.
“Going to do what?” Ophie’s eyes bounce from me to her sister to me, wide and anxious.
I take the wine bottles from her, and she immediately starts to worry at her nails. “Nate asked me to help out at Sunshine while Jackie and Greg are gone.” I hesitate but figure it’s better to get it over with. “He also offered to let me stay in their cottage so I don’t have to commute.”
“Oh. Are you going to do it?” She follows me to the kitchen, echoing Maggie's question.
I stick one bottle in the fridge, sifting through the drawer for the bottle opener to uncork the other. “I said I would give it a try.”
Maggie claps her hands from the couch, Kel looking on from the dining table, his face soft. “This is perfect. Oh my goodness, Philip, this is going to be such a help.”
Sydney snorts into her empty wine glass. “Let me guess, the great Nate is driving people away with his shitty customer service skills? Did Theo kick him out of the tasting room, or did he actually admit he needs help without Kel or his parents there?”
So, no love lost between Sydney and Nate. She never said a word about him in Vegas, but I wasn’t exactly paying attention to her.
“I assume Kel knows more than anyone else. Nate didn’t say much, just that he needed help, and everyone said I was ‘perfect’ the other day.”
I finish uncorking the bottle and fill the three glasses Ophie pulled from the cupboard. Sydney slides off the couch to bring her and Maggie’s glasses over, setting them beside the others for me to refill.
“Did he growl when he said it?” Sydney rolls her eyes as she waits for me to fill her glass.
“Give it a rest, Syd.” Kel slips behind me to pull the water jug from the fridge. “We all know you two can’t stand each other. Please don’t discourage Philip from taking one for the team.”
For half a second, I bristle that he’s making himself so at home here, before reminding myself that Maggie lived here until only a couple of months ago, and he must have come over often. I shake it off, then decide it’s time for me to lighten the mood and change the subject.
“Hey man, how’s the culinary program treating you? Make anything good so far?” I ask, handing him one of the wine glasses. The women bustle around us, Ophie pulling out plates and silverware while Sydney takes Maggie more water.
“The commute from Sunshine is a bitch, but so far it’s great.”
“The focaccia he brought home the other day was amazing. Although I hate that you have to leave so early,” Maggie calls out from the couch.
He grabs two plates, piling food on them both as he talks. “Bread is pretty new for me. I haven’t gotten it down exactly how I want, but Olive is loving helping me ‘study.’”
“Between him and the baby, I’m going to be big as a house soon.” Maggie hums as she takes the plate from Kel, inhaling the steam rising off her curry and rice.
Ophie squeezes beside me, an empty plate in her hand. “Did you get everything packed? I’m sorry I couldn’t come help you.”
I squeeze her waist as I take the plate she offers. “It was fine, yeah. I didn’t mind doing it myself. Besides, one of us has to be the breadwinner.” I whisper the last part in her ear, grateful for a chance to feel her warm skin near my lips. Which, of course, makes me think of last night. And there goes my cock, testing the strength of my zipper.
Ophie glares while she scoops rice onto her plate before handing me the serving spoon. “Hush. Not with everyone here.”
Still leaning close, I whisper against her neck. “Why is everyone here anyway? I was hoping to get a repeat performance.”
“They were here when I got home from work—”
“What are you two whispering about over here? Is there tea? I want the tea.” Sydney worms her way between us, her butt jostling dangerously close to my half-hard junk. She’s so close, I can smell the alcohol on her breath.
“Nothing.” Ophie straightens, conspicuously ignoring me while she scoops curry and a samosa onto her plate. “Sydney, would you grab me a piece of the naan?”
She rips a chunk of the flatbread off, bits of garlic flying into the air and landing on the counter, the bread glistening with melted butter. Instead of handing it to Ophie, she holds it near her mouth. “This naan?”
“Hand it over.” Ophie rolls her eyes, hand outstretched. I’m not going to lie, watching my wife scold a grown woman is hotter than I expected. Of course, that could just be because I suddenly can’t stop thinking about how much I want to kiss her again.
The Adams/Moore clan descending on us was not in my plan for the evening.
“Speaking of the commute…” Maggie pipes up from the couch. Kel looks up from his spot beside her on the couch, not making eye contact. Maggie glances at him, then lightly slaps his arm. “Don’t be ridiculous. My name is still on the lease.”
Ophie backs out of the kitchen, abandoning me to Sydney. “What’s up?”
“Well, I was thinking, if you don’t mind, Ophie…Since the drive out here from Sunshine is not exactly fun, maybe on the weeks Olive is at her mom’s, Kel and I might stay here? Just until we find somewhere of our own closer.”
“You guys want to stay here. Together?” Ophie repeats, eyes darting my way.
“Well, as beautiful as it is, we don’t really want to keep living out at Sunshine since Kel isn’t working there anymore. And he starts class so early—he likes to get there by seven thirty—and I have client meetings. It would be nice not to have to get up quite so early sometimes.” Maggie cuts herself off when she shovels a huge bite of curry into her mouth, peering hopefully over the edge of the plate.
“Uh. Sure?” Ophie takes a seat at the small four-seat table, pulling out the chair beside her with a meaningful glance in my direction. “Like you said, your name is still on the lease. And apparently, Philip is going to go stay at Sunshine, so feel free.” She shrugs before turning her attention to her plate of food.
I shove my samosa in my mouth, chewing as I move to sit beside her. Leaning close as I sit, I bump her knee with mine. “You could always come stay out at the winery with me.”
“What was that?” Maggie’s mouth is full of rice, muffling her words.
“Nothing,” I say before Ophie can. “Just that we seem to be playing musical houses. Maybe we can get a discount on a moving van.”
Maggie takes over the conversation, teaching me more than I ever wanted to know about pregnancy. I thought it was bad when Nicola was pregnant, but at least she didn’t share her gastrointestinal distress stories while eating curry, of all things.
Any chance I had of getting Ophie back into my bed again fizzles away with each story Maggie tells. Sydney keeps refilling our glasses, making it hard to keep track of how much I’ve had to drink. My head is buzzy and delightfully unfocused by the time Kel slaps his hands on his thighs and pushes to his feet.
“We should go, Sprinkles. I have class tomorrow. Plus, I promised to help Nate fix the tractor once I get home.” A grimace contorts his face as he pulls Maggie to her feet. “Don’t suppose you’re handy with equipment, are you?”
“Sorry, if I can’t fix it with a wink and a smile, I’m no good to you, man.” I tip my almost-empty glass in his direction. “You good to drive?”
“Yeah, I only had the one glass,” he calls over his shoulder. “Maggie drove, anyway.”
I glance at the three empty bottles on the kitchen counter. He only had one glass?
“Designated driver for the next six months. Take advantage while you can.” Maggie laughs, slinging her purse over her shoulder. She stops to hug Ophie, then Sydney, before joining Kel at the door. “See you tomorrow, roomie,” she adds as they leave.
“Did she mean me or you?” Ophie asks, gathering up the dishes on the coffee table. When I move to help, she pushes me back onto the couch and shakes her head.
“Does it matter?” Sydney mutters, her head flopped on the back of the easy chair she’s commandeered. “Fucking Nate.”
“Why do you hate him so much?” I probably wouldn’t have asked her if I wasn’t buzzed, but the question pops out before I stop to think about whether or not I should be asking it. Ophie rinses dishes in the sink, the clatter of cutlery and glasses drowning out my conversation with Sydney.
She humphs, lazily swirling the half inch of wine left in her glass, her arm dangling over the side of the chair. For the first time tonight, I’m not trying to watch Ophie in my peripheral vision and finally take a good look at Sydney.
Her hair is pulled up in a tangle on her head, and I can’t tell if the black smudges under her eyes are makeup or not. But either way, she looks a little rough.
She rolls her eyes and drains the last of her wine. “Because he’s an asshole.”
“No arguing there. But you seem to hate him a little extra.”
“Do I need a reason?” She turns her glare on me. Her eyes have that slightly unfocused look of someone who’s been drinking heavily. Mine probably match, if I’m honest.
I shrug. “I guess not. It just seems personal.”
“It is.”
I wait for her to keep talking, but she doesn’t. Just closes her eyes and sinks back into the chair.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. Between Ophie and me. Accepting Nate’s offer of temporary employment. Maggie and Kel basically moving back into this place.
“Philip?”
I swivel to face the kitchen behind me. Ophie has a collection of glasses on the counter in front of her. “Can you help me?” She points to the glasses, then the open cupboard door behind her.
With a last look at Sydney, who appears to be asleep, I pad into the kitchen. “Do you know what her deal is?” I ask as I put away glasses while she dries more clean dishes.
“Nope. Maggie says Nate basically abandoned the family when he went to France, especially after his dad sold Sunshine to the Suttons. Everyone was upset, but it does feel like Sydney has an extra grudge. For a while, Kel was the only person who would talk to him. No one else in the family would even say his name.”
I reach out to take the glass she just finished drying, my fingers sliding over hers. A shiver runs down my spine, and my cock, who finally got the message to settle down, wakes up. We freeze, my eyes glued to her hand beneath mine. “Ophie…”
“I know, we need to talk, but not right now.” Her focus darts to Sydney, asleep in the chair, before she peers back up at me. “Don’t look at me like that. We can’t.”
She’s wearing her usual post-work sweatpants and tank combo, which shouldn’t be hot but is anyway. The way her breasts push against the ribbed fabric, her sports bra squishing them together and creating a valley that calls to me. The baggy material sitting loose against her curvy hips—I want to slide my hands under it and feel her skin again. Prove that last night wasn’t a dream.
“Can’t what?” I tease, not wanting to drop it, but not wanting to push it and have her walk away.
“Can’t do…you know. What we did last night. Not if Sydney is here.”
“Are you saying that if Sydney wasn’t here, we could?” A brief spark of heat passes between us with my question. A sharp breath hisses through her parted lips as her eyes flare wide.
I lean close, my lips inches from hers. “Could we?”
Ophie’s exhale dances over my lips. “I mean”—she slips a hand along my side, her finger tugging the fabric of my shirt—“we are married.”
She takes a step toward me, her body lining up with mine.
A loud clatter sounds from the other room, and we jump back as Sydney jerks awake. “I got it!”
There’s another thump as she rolls off the chair to her hands and knees, grabbing for the wine glass on the ground. Ophie hurries over, bringing the towel she's been drying dishes with. Irritated at yet another interruption, I lean over the counter to see what’s going on.
“Do you have soda water or carpet cleaner?” Sydney’s words are fuzzy, but I can’t tell if they’re slurred or sleepy.
Ophie pulls her up off the floor. “Come on, Syd. Let’s get you to bed. You can sleep here.” She drapes Sydney’s arm over her shoulder. “Philip? There’s carpet cleaner under the sink. Can you…?”
Their voices carry as I spray and wipe the dribble of white wine before it soaks into the rug. After a few minutes, Ophie comes back out, looking over her shoulder as she joins me.
With a weary sigh, I stand up, crumpling the towel in my hand. “I guess I’m sleeping on the couch?”
“No, no. I’ll sleep on the couch. I put her in my bed.” She tries to take the bottle of cleaner from me, but I twist, keeping it out of her reach.
“You’re not sleeping on the couch. I’ll sleep out here.”
“You don’t fit on the couch.”
“I fit just fine.”
“No you don’t, Philip. Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not being ridiculous. You’re being stubborn.”
Again, she reaches out, and this time, she manages to snag the bottle out of my hand. Crowing in triumph, she scurries into the kitchen to put it away. I let her go, but as she rounds the counter toward me, I lean down and scoop her over my shoulder.
“Philip!”
“Shhhhh, you’ll wake Sydney.” I smack the back of her thighs but grab hold again when she starts sliding off. Between her squirming body and the loose sweatpants, we’re both going to end up on the floor. “Stop it, or I’ll drop you.”
Ignoring my command, she keeps poking my back, her nails digging into my skin. “Philip, put me down. Put me down now .”
I head toward my bedroom, swallowing my curse when my hip bashes into the back of the couch. “I’m not letting you take the couch. You should sleep in the bed, ninny.”
“I’m not a ninny. You’re a ninny. Besides, that’s your bed.” Her voice is muffled against my spine but still loud enough to hear.
“Didn’t stop you from sleeping in it last night. Do you even know what a ninny is?” I push the door open and flick on the light, careful not to smack her head on the frame.
The bed is still half unmade, my side of the white duvet pushed aside from when I threw it back this morning. Ophie’s side is perfectly neat, exactly how I found it this morning when I woke up and she was gone.
I turn to close the door behind me, not letting go of her thighs. “You sleep here. End of discussion.”
“Only if you sleep here too.” Being the stubborn woman she is, she wraps her arms around me in an upside-down koala hug. “I’m not letting go until you agree.”
“You can’t hang over my shoulder all night, Ophie.”
“Watch me.” She tightens her grip, her thighs tensing beneath my hands.
The challenge is too much to resist, so I lean forward, intending to toss her onto the bed. Instead of letting go and falling on her back like I expect, she keeps her death grip on me. As gravity takes over and she hits the bed at terminal velocity, she takes me with her.
I crash over her, my head and shoulder taking the brunt of my weight as they dig into her stomach. An unladylike noise trumpets from both her mouth and her ass as the rest of me rolls sideways off the edge of the bed. My butt catches on the corner, and the frame creaks ominously.
“Oh my god, oh my god.” Ophie’s horrified whispers meld with the noise of the bed frame cracking underneath us. With a final thud, my knees hit the ground as I roll off her. The silence that follows is deafening.
Ophie pushes up to her elbows. “Ahhh—”
“Did you—”
We both stop talking as the bed frame creaks again. Gingerly, I lift my elbows off the mattress. “Are you okay?” I try again after a moment of silence.
She doesn’t answer, just stares at me, mouth open. It’s dark, but I think her cheeks are turning red as I stare back.
“Ophie?”
She still doesn’t respond, but her eyes are getting wider and wider. Just when I’m about to panic, she gasps and coughs, doubling over on the bed. Her sudden movement sets the bed groaning once more.
I push to my feet so I can check on her. As I get clear of the bed, it’s obvious that the corner I hit is sitting lower than the rest of it.
“Did I knock the wind out of you?”
Ophie is still doubled over, gasping. I can’t think of what else to do but rub circles on her back like a useless baboon. The creaking has stopped, so I keep rubbing her back as I lean down to inspect the damage.
The metal leg of the frame is bent at an angle, no longer supporting the weight of the bed. One good bounce on it would have the whole corner of the mattress sliding down like a waterfall.
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Ophie.”
She finally catches her breath, curling up into a ball on her side, her one visible eye glaring at me. “We are never going to speak of this again.”
“Speak of what?”
“Anything that happens in this room.” Sucking a long breath in through her nose, she pushes up to her hands.
“You mean the sex? Or how you farted on my face?”
The second I say it, she bounces off the bed, but I catch her around the waist and pull her into me. The force of her back hitting my chest knocks me backward, the edge of the mattress catching the back of my knees and taking us down.
Again, we both fall onto the same corner as before. With a screech of metal, it collapses underneath us. Something under the bed breaks and splinters. We slide to the ground, the frame jabbing painfully into my spine, but I don’t let go of my squirming wife.
“Philip, let me go.” She pushes at me and kicks her legs, but I’ve got too good a grip.
“Only if you promise not to run away and wake up Sydney,” I growl, desperate to let her go so I can relieve the pressure on my spine, but not wanting to let her escape and claim the couch.
No one is sleeping on the couch tonight if I have anything to say about it.
Ophie makes a few more attempts to escape before giving up. “Fine. But we’re never going to mention it again.” She collapses against me, and I let her slide off me. “Sorry.”
“For farting on me? Or for being human?” I can’t help it. I’ve only heard her fart once before, and I don’t think she knows. Besides, reminding Ophie that she’s a mere mortal is one of my favorite games.
“Ugh!” Red spreads across her cheeks before she covers her face with her hands, shaking her head. “Can you please let it go? It was not on purpose.”
I want to let her squirm for another moment, but the curve of her neck is so tempting that it’s only a few seconds before I break the silence. Leaning in close, I let my lips and nose trace the soft skin behind her ear and the back of her neck. “I barely even noticed.”
She shivers as my lips pass over the bumps of her spine. “Philip…”
“Forget about it. I already have.” I press my lips to her warm skin and watch the goose bumps rise in my wake. “I’ll move out to Sunshine tomorrow. And it sounds like you’re getting new roommates soon. I think we better make the most of our last night, don’t you?”
She twists to look at me over her shoulder. “But…the bed? And Sydney’s right there.”
I press a kiss to her shoulder. “I can be quiet. Can you?”